Alper David P, Almeida Mariana N, Craver Andrew, Hosseini Helia, De Baun Heloise M, Moscarelli Jake, Collar John L, Parikh Neil, Shah Jinesh, Alperovich Michael
Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar Street, Boardman Building, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2024 Apr;48(7):1241-1248. doi: 10.1007/s00266-023-03523-8. Epub 2023 Aug 11.
Ear molding is a safe, non-surgical approach to treat newborns with congenital ear anomalies. In this study, we aimed to investigate long-term aesthetic outcomes and caretaker satisfaction from ear molding therapy.
A retrospective chart review from 2018 to 2020 was conducted for infants who underwent ear molding treatment at our institution. Patient demographics and treatment related variables were collected. Caretakers were surveyed regarding their experience, expectations, and aesthetic outcome at 1 year (short-term) and 3 years (long-term) from treatment. Independent physicians evaluated treatment efficacy. Responses were converted to a Likert scale (1-5), with 5 representing most desirable.
Overall, 38 of 42 patients participated in our long-term study (90%) for a total of 62 ears. Average follow-up was 3.31 ± 0.50 years after completion of treatment. Mean age at treatment was 23.2 ± 19.7 days with a mean treatment duration of 21.7 ± 7.7 days. Caretakers' satisfaction regarding auricular appearance remained high (short-term: 4.18 vs. long-term: 4.17, p = 0.54) and anticipated social distress decreased over time. Physician aesthetic evaluations were favorable between "somewhat effective" and "very effective" and remained consistent over time (short term: 3.46 vs. long-term: 3.31, p = 0.31). Furthermore, physician evaluations were higher for deformations than malformations (p = 0.04) and in children who began treatment by 30 days old (p = 0.04).
Caretaker satisfaction from ear molding therapy remained high after long-term follow up, and social distress from the perception of their child's ears decreased with time. Physician aesthetic ratings confirmed efficacy, with better outcomes seen in deformations than in malformations.
This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
耳部塑形是一种治疗先天性耳部畸形新生儿的安全、非手术方法。在本研究中，我们旨在调查耳部塑形治疗的长期美学效果及看护者满意度。
对2018年至2020年在我院接受耳部塑形治疗的婴儿进行回顾性病历审查。收集患者人口统计学资料及治疗相关变量。在治疗后1年（短期）和3年（长期）对看护者进行调查，了解他们的经历、期望及美学效果。由独立医生评估治疗效果。将回答转换为李克特量表（1 - 5），5表示最理想。
总体而言，42例患者中有38例（90%）参与了我们的长期研究，共62只耳朵。治疗完成后的平均随访时间为3.31±0.50年。治疗时的平均年龄为23.2±19.7天，平均治疗时长为21.7±7.7天。看护者对耳部外观的满意度仍然很高（短期：4.18 vs. 长期：4.17，p = 0.54），且预期的社交困扰随时间减少。医生的美学评估在“ somewhat effective”（有点有效）和“very effective”（非常有效）之间，且随时间保持一致（短期：3.46 vs. 长期：3.31，p = 0.31）。此外，医生对畸形的评估高于对畸形的评估（p = 0.04），且在30天前开始治疗的儿童中评估更高（p = 0.04）。
长期随访后，耳部塑形治疗的看护者满意度仍然很高，且因孩子耳部外观而产生的社交困扰随时间减少。医生的美学评分证实了治疗效果，畸形的治疗效果优于畸形（p = 0.04）。
证据水平IV：本期刊要求作者为每篇文章指定证据水平。有关这些循证医学评级的完整描述，请参阅目录或在线作者指南www.springer.com/00266 。
